Addict to games and online gambling
Living and studying in a boarding school for special children for 3 years, Luong Van Khanh (character name changed, born in 2007) said that Khanh came here at the age of 15, due to online gambling addiction and game addiction.
When talking to reporters, Khanh often bowed his head and suggested wanting to call himself "con" when talking about the journey that led Khanh to this school.
I started becoming addicted to phones from 9-10 years old. Social networks are more attractive than I could imagine. There are many things to learn on social networks. Sometimes these contents suddenly "jump" to the screen, or are linked (linked) with each other. In addition, friends also invited me to join game groups. I indulged in playing sic bo and online gambling. At that time, I was in 8th grade.
Initially, the amount was only 20 thousand - 30 thousand VND. I took it from breakfast money to play. In the early days, I often won. There were times when I won up to 200 million VND. But when I became more and more greedy, the more I rushed in, the more I lost. The largest debt was 100 million VND.
When the amount of debt increased, I borrowed money from friends, stole from my parents to pay. But when the debt became too large, I couldn't manage anymore, I had to tell my parents.
According to Khanh's account, when he told his parents about the debt of 100 million VND due to online gambling, it was a big shock to the family. Khanh's parents asked many questions, why, what pushed him into the path of game addiction, online gambling addiction. Khanh said, he also did not know when he started "addicted", when he started dropping out of school, indulging in groups of friends to play games day and night.
Sharing from a teacher teaching in this boarding school, since 2019, about 50% (out of a total of more than 400 students studying here) are addicted to games, addicted to online gambling. The age of game addiction in children is increasingly "rejuvenated". If previously, children addicted to games were usually in the age group of 14-15, in recent years it has appeared in children aged 10-11.
There are many cases like Khanh, when coming to this school, initially showing almost madness when their phones were confiscated and not allowed to be used.
Le Van Thang (character name changed, 18 years old) came to boarding school in 2023. Thang almost lost focus when using too many electronic devices. Talking to reporters about the early days of boarding school, Thang recounted: "I always imagined myself holding a phone, playing games.
Manifestations of children addicted to games, addicted to electronic devices and social networks, according to teacher Nguyen Nhu Hiep (teacher at a boarding school for special children), "children lose concentration ability. They speak fluently, with unclear content. Many children, when their parents bring them here, almost fall into autism and loss of control. When they are too engrossed in the online world, children want to withdraw, not communicate, not open their hearts, only indulge in groups, playing games, surfing social networks".
Nguyen Cong Thu (character name changed, born in 2008) recounted the journey of falling with a low face, looking less directly at the person opposite. In 8th grade, Thu practiced e-cigarettes. In 10th grade, Thu followed friends to race cars and explore the world of online gambling (online gambling). The biggest win, Thu had 20 million VND. With money, Thu became even more addicted, until she became in debt, neglected her studies, and the school called her parents up to talk.
At that time, I didn't know it was wrong. At that age, I wanted to show it to my friends. Around me, many friends were addicted to games, online gambling, and invited each other to race cars. There were even good students like that. When friends invited me, I saw that it was a very happy and participating world" - Thu recounted.
In the stories of Thu or Thang, Khanh, 14-year-old boys who were "deceived" by their families to come to this boarding school had to spend a long time "struggling" to fight and detoxify from electronic devices. Thu recounted: "For 3 months of being completely cut off from contact with the family, having their phones confiscated, I always asked why my parents pushed me here. Why didn't my parents believe that I could change myself. Until 5 months later, the first time my mother came to visit, when I saw my mother crying, I also cried along... At that time, I knew I was wrong. I realized how much I had made my parents suffer".
When children are taken to this boarding school by their families, they will not contact their families for the first 3 months, 100% do not use their phones 24/7. Only occasionally are they allowed to call their parents. About 5-8 months later, parents will be allowed to visit their children.
All the boys born in 2007-2009 that reporters contacted said that after 5-8 months of isolation, when they met their father for the first time, they could not understand why tears kept flowing.
At that time, they realized how disappointed and lost they would be if isolated from their families. And at that time, they realized how wrong they had been, how much pain they had caused their parents when they had to bring their children here.
Mr. Le Van The - Vice Principal of the school said: "This is a special environment, special management and education of students. We value closeness, understanding, and patience so that students understand where they were wrong, how wasteful their youth was, that family is always a place to love and welcome children who stumble back.
Research at the National Institute of Mental Health in 2021 on teenagers aged 10-24 shows that the number of people with an average Internet usage time of over 3 hours per day accounts for a high proportion (over 51.3%), of which the longest time is up to 15 hours/day. The tool to use the Internet the most is mobile devices (smartphones, tablets...), accounting for 98.2%. The most used content is social networks (51.37%), playing online electronic games (26.6%), watching online videos (14.68%).
The Internet addiction rate in the group of patients studied according to clinical standards was 43.1%.
The rate of adolescents aged 10-18 years old addicted to games, online gambling, and social media addiction is increasing, especially in major cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
According to a survey report by the Vietnam Youth Research Institute (2024), nearly 65% of secondary and high school students regularly play games at least 5 times a week, of which about 25% have clear signs of game addiction, expressed through irritable behavior, skipping meals, skipping school or lying to parents to play.
